Clutch-operating mechanism.



. GARDNHR.

CLUTCH immfzr ,LU MAX' 4 131k Patented Dec. 1. 1914 3 SHI-ETS SHEET l C. B. GARDNER.

CLUTCH OPERATING MEGHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 4, 10171.

1,1 19,270, Patented Dec.1,1914.

3 SHBBTSYSHEET 2.

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C. B. GARDNER. CLUTCH OHERATING MBCHANISM.

APPLICATION flLBD MAY 4,1914.

Patented Dec. l, 1914A wil/Mme d YW. fr?

CHARLES B. GARDNER. OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

CLUTCH-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. i 1914.

Application filed Kay 4, 1914. Serial No. 836,207.

To all lwhom t muy (,'once'rn Be it known that l, CHARLES B. GARDNER, afcitizen of the United States. residing at Atlanta, in the count-y of Fulton and State of Geor ia, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Clutch-Operating Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to t e accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to mechanism for operating and controlling friet-ion clutches, more especially disk clutches for omnecting a driving and driven part, the invention being particularly applicable for the opera tion and control of c utches in the driving mechanism of automobiles or self'propelled vehicles.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a clutch operating mechanism with which the coperating, driving and driven clutch members may be so accurately and definitely controlled'and moved that the static inertia of the driven parts may be overcome so gradually as to prevent the stalling of the motor or the acceleration ot' the driven parts at such Speed as would be harmful or disagreeable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clutch operating and controlling mechanism with which the leverage of the. operating membersy may be greatly increased without increasingr to any'mntcrial extent the range of movement of the parts which are moved b v hand or foot power, with the result that the torque transmitted by the clutch will be greatly increast-id. without requiring a greater etl'ort on the part ot' the op erator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clutch operating;r mechanism in which the connection between the clutch spring and clutch operating lever is movable, whereby the power of the spring may be exerted for putting the clutch in with a graduated pressure or for entirely freeing the` clutch members, and the shifting of said connection is controlled by a foot.' lever, whereby the toot lever is relieved from the pressure .0f the clutch spring, and may be utilized for setting the brakes without havingi to overcome the direct pressure or" the clutch spring.

With the above objects and others which willy hereinafter become apparent in view.y the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangemente of parts, all as will be herein'- after described and pointed out particularly in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawingsf'Figure 1 is a side elevation of a clutch operating mechanism embodying the present improvements, certain of the correlated parts being shown more or less diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a plan vierT of the mech anism shown in Fig. l, but omitting;r thc foot lever and its associated parts including the brake mechanism. Fig. 3 is aview cor cesponding to Fig. l, but with the clutch members, driving shaft and shitting ring in section. Fig. 4 is a view substantially coil-v responding to F ig. l, buty with the clutch members in released position. Figs. 5 and t' are'transverse sections. substantially on the lines 5--5 and 6---6.. Fig. 3. Fig. is a sec' ion at right angles to the section of Fig. 4, and showing the universal joint; connection between the clutch members and operating devices. Fig. ti is a vertical section .Qnbstan tially in the plane indicated by the line of Fig. i", but omitting some of the parts. Fig. 9 is a detail perspet'tive view of the inner end of the clutch rod showing the ecm centric and its bearing.

Like letters oi' reference in the several tig; tiresindicate the saine parts.

The mechanism constituting the present' in rention is illustrated in a conventional arrangement for an automobile or self-propelled vehicles. A portion of the engine or motor indicated at A, its tly wheel at B. the Cardan shafty at C. and the universal 'joint between the in'ner end of the Cardan shaft and drive shaft at l). The drive shaft, which constitutes a prolongation ot' the crank shaft. indicated at E, and it will be understood that it is connected with the crank shaft at the tlv wheel end of the motor or at the opposite end as found mod; convenient or in fact it may be an integral portion of the motor shaft, or receive the power in any suitable way. In order that the drive'shaft may properly support and carry certain parts of the mechanism l'or operating the clutch, it is preferably of relatively large diameter, and is recessed at O for the ac commodation of parts to be presently described. The clutch members are located at the rear end of the shaft and while they may be of any ordinary type adapt to be operated by a longitudinally movable draft rod, they are preferably of the multiple disk type, and as shown in the drawings, disks l" are mounted to slide longitudinally on the shaft but to rotate in unison therewith, and clamp between them a disk Gr also mounted to move longitudinally of the shaft, but ca- 'pable of rotation independentlx7 thereof.

Between a suitable collar or abutment H on the shaft and the disks referred to, there is a yoke or head I with which the disk Gris connected for rotation, but said parts are capable of moving longitudinally with relation to each other in the well understood manner, the said head` I being the driven part with which the Cardan shaft C is connected, and is adapted to be rotated from the drive shaft when the disks are clamped together.

For clamping the disks together the drive shaft is bored axially for the reception of an adjustable draft rod K the rear end of which is provided with a head k and between said head and the rear disk F there is interposed. a universal. joint formed by mem,- bers 7c and k2 jointed together on a trans verse axis, and member k2 is provided with transverse journals k3 at right angles to the axisfof the joint between the members c and' k2, 'for seating in suitable bearings on the rear disk F. The forward end of the adjustable draft rod K is provided with a head L having a bearing therein for a lever in the form of an eccentric L journaled on a transverse axis in the drive shaft and having an operating extension M. The pivotal bearings for the lever L M are formed by the lower ends of recesses indicated in dotted lines at N in the sidewalls of the chamber O in the drive shaft in which the lever l.

and head of the draft rod are located. Said recesses N are arranged at an inclination with respect to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft in a. direction opposite that of the strain on the pintles Z which seat in the bearings formed by the recesses. This construction provides a convenient arrangement whereby the parts may be assembled, but it will be understood that it is a constructive feature only, and the construction may be other than illustrated and described, without departing from the present invention.

As another convenient detail of construction, the head L of the draft rod may be in the form of a yoke, between the arms of which a block L2 is adapted to be heid bv pins or projections l2 adapted to seat in di agonally arranged or inclined recesses l in the arms of the yoke, as shown clearly in Fig. 9 of the drawings, but this detail of construction, it obvious, may be varied and any of the well known arrangements of connecting rod bearings substituted there-Y for.

The lever L M constitutes the operating member for the clutch, and if the lever be swung in one direction the eccentric portion thereof will draw the draft rod forwardij7 and clamp the clutch members together. and if it be swung in the opposite direction, the clutch members will be released. "llie part M of the operating lever is provi with a track or way for the spring;` pressed movable member` of a slidin carriage wli'uii is movable longitudinally o the drive s" and free to rotate in unison therewith, vi ce sliding' carriage embodies in the form ill sY trated, a ring or annular part P extending around the drive shaft, and within it there is pivotally mounted a pressure lever Q. naw ing on one end an antifriction roller jf which bears on and travels in the track in th'e portion M of the operating lever. From Figs. 3L and 4 it will be understood that the pressure member in its travel longitudinally of the drive shaft may bear on the operating lever at a point directly opposite the axis of the lever or slightly in rear thereof, or at any point forward of said axis to the ex treme end of the lever, as shown in Fig. j

fili

or lever Q and suitable brackets ,n on the 'il carriage P, an d the said carriage is properly supported on the drive shaft against the pressure of said springs exerted throi the pressure lever Q by anti-friction rolle. l journaled in the carriage and trave a way or Ways e on the opposite side or the drive shaft from the pressure member or lever.

The axis and bearing roller o of the pref sure member are preferably both located in. planes transverse to the drive shaft interimTw diate the transverse planes in which 'the rollers P are located, with the result tb the carriage is held .ln its proper pc with relation. to the dri '.'e shaft and may i moved longitudinally thereon. In the preferred arrangement, the surface of' the per tion M of the operating lever with which the pressure member en ages may be moved to incline in opposite irections with rela tion to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft; thus, when the clutch members are separated or released as shown in Fig. 4, the said surface is inclined n wardly toward the forward end' of the shallt, and when the carriage is moved to swing the lever so as to gripthe clutch members together, it is inclined in the opposite direction, as shown in Fig. '3 of the drawings. Because of this arfrangement the clutch spring tends to hold the operating lever in either position to which it may have been moved, and while the inclination in either direction is very slight, yet the tendency of the spring is to cause the carriage either to remain at rest or to travel forwardly in the direction in which the lever member is inclined. Very little power is required to move the carriage in the opposite direction, or against the inclination of the lever member, because the incline which acts as a Wedge against the tension of the clutch spring is very slight.

Owing to the ease of movement of the carriage, it isobvious that the application of the clutch or the gripping action of the clutch members may be most accurately controlled and regulated by the employment ot comparatively simple shifting mechanism for the carriage. The means preferably employed for shifting the carriage embodies a rock shaft S from which depends a yoke S pivotally connected at its ends with a shifting ring S2 working in a groove s in the canL riage P before referred to. The shifting ring S2 is provided with a vertically elongated opening, whereby'it may have a limited play transversely of the axis of the shaft to accommodate itself to the longitudinal movements of the carriage. At one end the rock shaft is provided with a crank S3, and the rocking movements of the shaft are controlled by a yoke lever T which may conveniently form the foot lever of the control mechanism. The lever T is provided with a channel or slot for the reception of the crank S3 which latter may have an ordinary antifriction roller thereon, and the said channel is partly tangential to the axis of the lever and partly substantially concent1 ic therewith. The tangential portion of the channel in the lever T is indicated at t, `while the concentric `portion is indicated at In operation the rock shaft is moved and the carriage shifted to throw the clutch in or out when the crank S3 is in the tangential portion of the channel, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, but during the movement of the lever T, after the clutch members have been disengaged as shown in Fig. 1i, the crank rests in the concentric portion. of the channel and receives nd further movement.

yThe movement of the lever T while the utilize this portion of the movement for completing the application of the brakes to the vehicle.y which result is accomplished by connecting the brakes to the lever T as, for

example. by the link U, lever U and link (T2. In lig. the brake hand is indicated at lis and its operating beil crank which is of the usual type. is indicated at U". the arrangement being such that the brake band U3 is tightened when the lever T is pushed forwardly or to the right in Fig. 1.

AAs bet'ore stated, the lever T is illustrated as one designed for use as a foot lever in an automobile or self-propelled -vehicle. and for the convenient appllcation of the foot thereto it is provided with a treadle section V designed to normally occupy an inclination which the most natural inclination for the foot ofthe user, that is to say, it is si'ihstantially 45 to the horizon, and in order to maintain this angle or to permit it to increase slightly as the lever is pushed away vfrom the user, the treadle piece is provided with a curved extension V', having teeth or serrations in its under surface for cooperation with a -ixed retaining tooth V2. It is obvious that by a slight inclination or tilting of the foot pressing against the treadle piece AV the curved mem' ber may be thrown into or out of engage ment with the fixed retaining tooth and the clutch locked in any position desired or released when it is desired to more it from one position to another. ln the p Licrred conw struction a relaiiv light spring W is eniployed for returning theY lever T te rear ward position. thc strength of the spring being sutiicient te shift the e lage Afrom the position shown in Fig, i the clutch members disengaged to the Vasition shown in l and 3 with the clutch members en acd. and they i sistance of this como-ara- .I

tively light spring? is all that has to he over come by thel operator in welcoming the clutch and in the appcation oi' the brake :lifter the clutch is released. ln other words, with the present arrangcnxmit. the porter of tin: M

di" the iriilmaiife of its comparatively light spring until the desired pressure between the clatch members is secured. This pressure may be most accurately controlled and regnl ated by the movement of the foot, so that the clutch members will pick up gradually and without imposing a sudden load on the engine by reason of the static inertia of the driven parts. It thus becomes possible to start the ,vehicle on high gear for the driving members of the clutch may be permitted to slip with a radually increasing resistance until the driven members are in motion.

By the provision of a shifting connection between the clutch spring and its operating lever the effective power of the spring on the operating lever is gradually increased as the clutch members are brought together. The increasing leverage effect will. be readily appreciated when it is remembered that the application of the pressure of the clutch spring to the operating lever shifts from a point where pit is practically neutral or negative, as shown in Fig. 4, forwardly toward the free end of the lever; or, to express it in another way, the lengthsof the operative f or power arm/ of the level" is gradually in- [lil creased by theshifting ofthe point of ap plication of the power away from the axis of the lever.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the driving and driven yclutch members, of an operating lever for bringing the 'clutch members together having a slide-way thereon, a spring-pressed pressure member cooperating With said slide-way to operate the lever, and means for moving the pressure member longitudinally of the lever to vary the effective length of the lever.

2. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the driving and driven clutch members, of an operating lever for bringing the members together, ay movable pressure member cooperating with said lever to operate the same, a clutch spring co operating with the pressure member, and 'means for shifting the pressure member longi'tudinally of the operating lever.

3. In a clutch oyierating mechanism, the combination with the driving and driven clutch members, of an operating lever for bringing the clutch members together, a pivotally supported pressure member coperating with the said lever, a clutch spring for holdingr the pressure member in operative engagement with the lever, and means for shifting the pressure member and its spring longitudinallyv of the operating lever, whereby the effective length of the lever may be varied` 4. In a clutch operating mechanism, the

combination with the driving and driven clutch members, of an operating lever for bringing the clutch members together, a spring-pressed pressure member coperat ing with said lever for operating the same, a carriage in which said pressure member is mounted, and means for shifting said carriage and pressure member longitudinally of the operating lever.

5. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the drive shaft and clutch members movable into and out of engagement longitudinally of said sha-ft, of an operating lever pivotally mounted in the driving shaft 'and extending longitudinally thereof for operating the clutch member, a spring-pressed pressure member movably engaging the operating lever, a carriage in which said pressure member is mounted movable longitudinally of the drive shaft, and means for moving said carriage and `pressure member for varying the effective length of the operating lever.

6. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the shaft and driving and driven clutch members movable into and out pf engagement longtiudinally of said shaft, of an operating lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, operating connections intermediate said lever and clutch members, a carriage mounted to rotate in unison with the shaft but movable longitudinally thereof, a spring-pressed pressure member mounted in the carriage and movably engaging the operating lever, and means for `shifting the carriage to vary the point of engagement between the operating lever and pressure member.

7. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the shaft and clutch members movable into and out of engagement longitudinally of the shaft, of an operating lever pivotally mounted on the shaft and in operative enga gement with the clutch members, said operating lever being provided with a way arranged rlongitudinally of the shaft, a carriage mounted to rotate in unison with but movable longitudinally; of the shaft. a pressure member pivotally mounted on the carriage and engaging the way on the lever, and means foemoving said carriage.

8. Ina clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the shaft and clutch members movable into and out of engagement longitudinally of the shaft, of the operating lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, operating connections :intermediate said lever and clutch members, a spring-pressed pressure member cooperating with the operating lever, a carriage movable longitudinally of theshaft and in which the pressure member is mounted, a shifting ring connected with said carriage, and means cooperating withsaid ring for shifting the carriage to vary the pointfof engagement between the pressurrl member and operating lever.

9*.- ln a clutch operating mechanism, the

combination-with the shaft and clutch members movable into and out of engagement longitudinally of said shaft, an operating lever pivot-ally mounted in the shaft, a connection extending axially of the shaftbe-f-l operating leverpivotally mounted Vin thev shaft, a pressure member. movable longi- Ise tudinally 'oi the/shaft and-coperating with the operating lever, a connection extending' .axially of the shaft intermediate the lever and c 'itch members, and a universal joint connection intermediate said connection and clutch members 'whereby the contacting faces of the clutch members may adjust themselves' to ,each other. Y

' 11. In a' clutch operatingmechanism, `the combination Wi/tli the'shaft, clutch members `movable longifudinally of the shaft i'nto and out of operative engagement, operative connections` extending axially from the clutch members intothe' shaft and operating lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and cooperating with said axial clutch operating connections, of a carriage movable longitudinally of the shaft, a spring-pressed pressure member mounted in the carriage and cooperating with the lever to swing the same on its axis, and means for shifting the carriage longitudinally.

l2. ln a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the shaft, clutch members movable Alongitudinally of the shaft into and out of operative engagement, operating lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, and an foperating connection intermediate said lever and clutch members, of means for operating the lever embodying a carriage mounted to rotate in unison but movable longitudinally independently of the shaft,a`

bers movable longitudinally of the shaft into and outo operative engagement, of an operating. lever for the clutch members pivotally mounted in the shaft and movable into positions inclined in opposite directions with relation to' the axis of'the shaft, and means for operating said lever embodying a longitudinally movable springpressed pressure member with means for moving said pressure member longitudinally of the lever, whereby the lever will be inclined in one direction' when the clutch members are disengaged and 'inclined in the opposite direction when the clutch members are in engaged position f 14x-In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with the shaft, clutch members movable longitudinally ofthe shaft into and out of operative engagement and operating lever for said clutch members pivotally mounted in the shaft and having a slide Way Athereon extending longitudinally of thel shaft but adapted to be inclined in opposite directions with relation to the axis of the? shaft, of a carriage mounted to rotate in unison with but movable longitudinally of the shaft, a spring-pressed pressure member cooperating with the Way on the lever, and means for moving the carriage to vary the point of application of pressure to the lsaid lever.

15. In a clutch operating mechanism, the combination with a shaft, clutch members,

an'operating lever for moving said clutch members into operative engagement, s'aid lever being pivotally mounted in the shaft tov rotate in unison therewith and having a longitudinally extending Way thereon, of a spring-pressedv pressure member coperat# ing with said -Wray to move the operating leverl,. and means for bodily shifting said pressure member-longitudinally of the ,shaftv to vary the ei'iective leverage of the lever.

16. "ln a clutch operatingmcchanisin, the' combination with the shaft, clutch members, operating lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, spring-pressed pressure member Vmovable longitudinally of the shaft and coperating with the lever for moving the clutch .inembers into operative engagement, andi'- carringe in which said pressure member .isv

mounted, of means for movin said carriage embodying a yoke and rocks iaft, having a crank thereon and a lever having a cam slot cooperating with said crank, said slot being in part tangential to the axis of the lever and in part concentric therewith.

v17.v ln a clutch mechanism for self-prt polled vehicles, the combination with the shaft, clutch members, operating lever for said clutch members pivotally mounted in the shaft, spi-ing pressed pressure member coperatin `with the operating lever, carriage in \hich said pressure member is mounted movf'mble' lonediimlly ofl the with which said locking projectio copershaft, rock slait alxldvyo forshftng sa ates. carriage an rvgn arm on said rock sha of-a foot lever operatng with( said cranl; CHAS B GARDNER' arm, af'treadle pivotally mountedion saidA Witnesse's:

foot lever, a curvedA and toothed locking n R. Fiumi: TAYLOR, projection on 'said treadl'e and a fixed tooth W. HENEKGLIFFE.' 

